Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $48.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier's stock. Evercore ISI's target price suggests a potential upside of 7.79% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.92.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.53. The stock had a trading volume of 11,620,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,119,270. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.02. The firm has a market cap of $187.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).